Professional runner outruns 2 black bears in Maine

SeventhDayPhotogrpahy/iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — A professional marathon runner was forced to put his training to the test against two of nature’s top predators.

Moninda Marube was about six miles into his morning run in Maine when two black bears emerged from the woods.

The professional runner decided to make a run for it.

“I was not going to fight them,” Marube told ABC News.

The marathon champion sprinted to an empty house nearby and slipped inside a screened-in porch.

“They started sniffing the door,” he said.

The bears pawed at the screen door before eventually moving on. Marube was then able to safely get away.

Expert Doug Seus told ABC News that bears can reach running speeds up to 30 miles per hour.

“You never run. You never run from a bear,” he said.

Officials nationwide say bear encounters are on the rise. Two people were mauled in very rare back-to-back attacks last month in Alaska and numerous other sightings have been reported from Alaska to California.